Man arrested, charged with stalking John Rich

A Nashville man involved in a long-running dispute with country music singer John Rich has been arrested on stalking charges.

According to a police affidavit, Rich filed a complaint against Mark Christopher Sevier in April claiming Sevier violated two restraining orders taken out in 2012.

As first reported by WZTV, Sevier is accused of sending Rich numerous emails. One included a picture of Sevier "wearing very little if any clothing with an American flag draped over his body and having a substance, believed to be representing blood, covering himself," according to the affidavit.

Rich told police he was worried for the safety of his wife and children. One of the emails mentions Rich's children.

Although an arrest warrant was issued in April, Sevier was not arrested until Sunday, according to jail records. He was released on $4,000 bond the same day and has a court date of July 29 in Davidson County General Sessions court.

Police said they had tried to serve the warrant nine times before Sevier was spotted and arrested.

A phone number listed for Sevier was disconnected and he did not immediately return an email requesting comment on Tuesday.

An attorney for Rich, Cynthia McKenzie, said she could not comment on the case because there is an ongoing criminal investigation.

Sevier is a producer at Severe Records in Nashville, according to court records. He sued Rich in federal court in 2008, claiming libel, copyright infringement and intentional infliction of emotional distress in a dispute going back to 2005 over the rights to two songs recorded by Shanna Crook. The suit eventually was dismissed.

Rich later sued Sevier for malicious prosecution. That case is still active in Davidson County Circuit Court.

Sevier, who graduated from Vanderbilt Law School but has an inactive law license due to mental issues, filed a bizarre pro se suit[1] against Apple Computer in federal court just last week. The suit asks the court to force the computer giant to sell all products in "safe mode" in order to limit exposure to Internet pornography.